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with fish sauce vinaigrette

I know that a lot of people are upset that it’s still freezing cold and snowing in New York, but I love it. I don’t want it to be hot, sticky, and sweaty, which is more often the case than not during the summers here. I like being bundled up, being able to wrap a blanket around myself on the couch or bury myself in my comforter on my bed, instead of having to beg the air conditioning unit to pump out more cold air, and faster, and gingerly blow-drying my hair so that I don’t work too fast, start to get hot, and then have the nicely straightened and styled locks of hair stick to my neck and become curly and frizzy again. Nope, not looking forward to that at all. I’ll deal with the snow, and I know that humid, 90-degree weather is only a couple of month away, so I will enjoy each brisk gust of wind and my trudge through the streets with an umbrella held directly in front of me to stop freezing rain from smacking me in the face as I push forward. I guess I do miss sunshine; I think that the last really nice, sunny weekend was about two weeks ago, and people went nuts! All anyone could talk about was going to the park, sitting outside, enjoying the clear weather, and honestly, it was only about 45 degrees, but the sun was so welcoming that people went without jackets, anyway.

There was just a bit of snow on Monday night.

Obviously, this was not the case on Monday night, but Tuesday was slightly better. Monday, however, Kramer and I actually went out, despite the odd “spring time” weather. We met with our friends Matt and Diana at Beecher’s Cellar – I had tried to go there previously on a Friday night, only to find the place completely packed, but thankfully 6 PM on a Monday night is not exactly the most happening time of the week, so we were able to get seated right away. I really want to go back and try their more extensive menu, but we got a little cheese plate to snack on and a few cocktails, all of which I really enjoyed, especially my old fashioned that they made with rye and some kind of fig syrup. Mom, if you’re reading this, they have that cheese you like that’s wrapped in tree bark (or at least they did when we were there), so we have to go next time you and Dad are in town! My parents are definitely cheese-crazy; I was with a doubt the first of my elementary school aged friends to know (and enjoy) something like brie, which my mom used to make most holidays covered in pecans and dried cranberries, served with water crackers and of course, gobbled up immediately. Brie may sound commonplace now, but when I was living in suburban Chicago in 1996, it was definitely more exotic and fancy that it is today. Brussels sprouts, on the other hand…I don’t know that I started willingly eating those until college, but damned if I don’t absolutely adore them now.

I hopped on the Brussels sprouts train and at the time, Kramer only begrudgingly followed me. Now, though, he can’t get enough of them. When they are in season, we eat them at least once a week, if not more, and I don’t think that I will ever get sick of them. They have the starchiness of a potato, but are full of fiber and vitamins that tubers lack. Plus, when you slice them and a few leaves fall to the wayside, be sure to add them back to the mixture because those little babies get all crispy and delicious when roasted, and the texture is incredible. The nearly blackened leaves are, admittedly, my favorite part of roasted sprouts, especially when eaten with this fish sauce vinaigrette from David Chang. I actually made these for Thanksgiving last year, and Kramer took the written recipe, stuck it on the fridge, and wrote in big, red letters “make me again!” on the front. Message received! We’ve made this a few times and it is simply irresistible. The vinaigrette is almost addictive, to be honest. I have to stop myself from dipping carrots or lettuce leaves or whatever other veggies are laying around in it while the Brussels sprouts finish cooking, or else I’d probably suck down the entire bowl. The fish sauce is salty and pungent, but when paired with sugar, lime juice, garlic, and spicy peppers, it takes on a rich, sweet, and savory flavor that is beyond compare. I save any leftover vinaigrette and use it throughout the week, but honestly, I drench my sprouts in the stuff if given the opportunity because it is unbelievably good. Have I talked up this recipe enough, yet? Good, because this is without a doubt my favorite way to eat (see: inhale) Brussels sprouts, and it will soon be yours, too.

Soaking mushrooms to make a broth for some mussels (recipe to come), which after eating Kramer promptly napped, then we watched, you guessed it, Lost.

This is a super simple dish to make. Just halve your sprouts, make your sauce, crisp ’em up, and toss.

David Chang's genius comes through again with crispy roasted Brussels sprouts in a tangy, spicy fish sauce vinaigrette.

Ingredients

2 pounds Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved

grapeseed oil (preferred as it's neutral in flavor, but olive or canola is fine, too - I recommend picking some up because it's great to rub your cast iron pans down with, too)

⅓ cup fish sauce, plus more to taste (some brands are saltier than others - start here and add more if you like - I did)

¼ cup water

2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

juice of 1 lime

¼ cup granulated sugar

1 garlic clove, finely minced

1 to 3 red bird's-eye chiles, thinly sliced with seeds (I only had a jalapeño pepper, so I used two of these)

Instructions

First, roast your Brussels sprouts. You can wash them if needed, but I rarely do unless they are crazy dirty. Just remove any leaves with dirt on them (although try to keep some leaves because they get extra crispy and delicious while roasting), trim, and halve.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium heat in 2 cast iron pans (obviously I halved this recipe for my 2-person household), then add in the sprouts, cut side down. When the cut side of the sprouts begin to brown, about 5-8 minutes, place the pans in the oven to finish cooking for 15 minutes or so, until tender. If you don't have 2 large pans, you can toss the Brussels sprouts in the oil, place them on a baking sheet, and put them right in the oven (cut side down) for 20-25 minutes, tossing them after 10 minutes or once they start to brown.

While the sprouts roast, make your sauce. Simply combine the fish sauce, water, vinegar, lime juice, sugar, garlic, and chiles/peppers in a jar and shake it all up. For a more intense flavor, you can pulse them all together in a food processor, as I did. Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary. If it's too salty, add more water or lime juice. This vinaigrette is insanely delicious and will keep up to a week in the fridge, so save any extras for other purposes.

Once the Brussels sprouts are ready, remove them from the oven and toss with about half of the vinaigrette. Taste, and add more vinaigrette until the flavor is where you want it to be.

I hate hot sticky weather too, and soon here in Arizona it will be like an oven! I have just acquired a taste for Brussels sprouts, I have only fixed them roasted with olive oil and Parm, I will definitely give these a whirl!

As much I am craving warm air, I do LOVE the snow and the cold. My favorites things are getting all bundled up in my bed!! These brussel look amazing! Roasting them is my favorite and OMG the fish sauce is just genius!

Dude, I’m not even a brussels sprouts person but I’d gladly try it again with this stuff. And then watch Lost. I’ve watched the entire series twice but I think I need to watch it again. It makes for great workout videos to help pass the time!

I love the cold; breezes and snow set the atmosphere for a great night in or out.The heat honestly over rated, I think. (bad luck for me that I live in Australia, right?)
We don’t have a plentiful supply of sprouts here, but I am trying this version next time I get my hands on some at the farmers market.

I have been looking for a simple recipe for brussel sprouts. Most brussel sprout recipes out there have something to do with bacon. But I want something lighter and less fat. Your recipe sounds perfect. Gotta try it.

I love Brussels sprouts and eat them all the time. I had to convince my mom to try them. My dad still avoids them at all costs. You can keep the winter weather as long as it gets warmer here in Michigan 😉

[…] The star of Pok Pok Ny is, without a doubt, its fish sauce wings. I’ve read that the proprietor, Andy Ricker, fell in love with these wings on a trip to Thailand. Fish sauce sounds scary, but it is a rich, fragrant ingredient that makes these fried wings pop. I would even go as far as likening fish sauce to something like truffle oil — its umami, or savory flavor, makes it surprisingly irresistible (for more on fish sauce, check out my Momofuku Roasted Brussels Sprouts). […]

[…] make your mouths and stomachs happy. Don’t be frightened by the fish sauce! I’ve made Momofuku’s Fish Sauce Brussels Sprouts before to rave reviews, and I promise these will go over the same with your friends and family. The […]

Would these stand up to being served cold? As in, could I roast the sprouts the night before, take them and the sauce to my mother-in-law’s separately, toss them there and serve room temperature? Please and thank you.

Hi Sam – I think they would be fine, but you’d have to make sure you made them extra crispy to avoid mushy sprouts. Maybe you could slice them thinner or quarter them so there aren’t giant chunks of room-temp veggies?

I beg to bring these brussels sprouts to every family gathering/potluck now. I add fresh chopped cilantro and mint leaves right before serving. Wow! Watch out. Merry Christmas from Castle Rock, Colorado.